The Riveter: Longform Journalism by Women, for Women

The two journalism students didn’t let their awe at meeting Esquire writer Mike Sager silence their frustration: Why weren’t there more women in his collection of the “next generation” of literary journalists?

Sager’s response, in essence: You tell me.

Two years on from that exchange, Kaylen Ralph and Joanna Demkiewicz find themselves running a small but gutsy magazine by, about and for women: The Riveter. Their venture is fueled by crowdfunding and income from day jobs, and stoked by the question: Is there a future for women in longform journalism? It also is an act of defiance at a time when larger industry trends that say longform journalism is a luxury of the past, print is dying, and women’s magazines are defined more by fluff and fashion than serious storytelling.